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Gingersnap Glazed Ham

December 29, 2016

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Growing up in Canada New Years always meant my mother would be cooking a Ham. We had turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas and we had Ham for Easter and New Years. I don't know if there is a religious reason for this, or if it is just a family tradition, but it is something I still do. Ham for New Years.

My mother never did anything fancy with it. It would be boiled and then roasted. She usually had a bone in ham, but you never see those over here. It would be served cold with mustard. We would have mashed potatoes and green beans with it and a special dessert. If we were really lucky it would be a Lemon Meringue Pie.

I don't ever remember her glazing it. Not ever. I do remember seeing photographs of glazed hams in the magazines . . . the fat glistening and cut into diamonds and crusted on the edges with a sweet sugary crust . . . each diamond studded with a clove or a cherry. They looked so very pretty.

This year I bought a boneless cooked ham. Over here uncooked ham is called Gammon and you have to boil it before you can eat it. However once it is cooked and called a ham it is always edible right out of the pack. I like to heat it through though and glaze it. It just makes something quite simple that little bit more special.

This glaze was absolutely brilliant. Nice and spiced with ginger, both from the gingerale and from the ginger jam, a tiny bit spicy from the Dijon mustard and tabasco, sweet also from the ginger jam and some brown sugar and a smidgen tart from the addition of apple cider vinegar.

Those ingredients get heated together until the ginger jam melts and then all whisked together. I cut diamonds in the ham so that some of the mixture would go down into the ham. I rolled it in it all over and then I baked it in a moderate oven, basting it every ten to fifteen minutes with the glaze.

Now here is where it gets really special. I crushed gingersnaps for even more ginger flavours and sprinkled them over the top of the ham and basted it again. Baked for a short time longer it forms a nice gingery crust. I probably basted it two more times before it was done.

The end result was a lovely flavoured ham with a gingery crust and the juices in the roasting dish thickened up from some of the crumbs to make a sauce that was just gorgeous spooned over the warm ham. All in all this was a real winner! We loved it. Oh, I do love it when an experiment or an idea turns out to be every bit as delicious as I had envisioned it to be! I hope you will give it a go!

This
is delicious. Simple to make. The oven does all the work. The
leftovers are delicious sliced and served cold with cheese and pickle.

1 kg cooked ham (about 2 1/4 pounds)

120ml gingerale (1/2 cup)

60ml apple cider vinegar (1/4 cup)

1/2 (454g)jar of ginger preserves (about 1/2 cup)

2 TBS French Dijon mustard

100g soft light brown sugar

dash tabasco sauce

Crumbled gingersnaps to finish (about 6)

Preheat
the oven to 180*C/350*f/ gas mark 4. Melt the ginger preserves in a
flameproof casserole dish large enough to hold the ham. Add the
gingerale, apple cider vinegar, mustard, brown sugar and tabasco sauce.
Whisk well together. Cut slashes in top of the ham. Place it into the
casserole dish, top first and rolling it around to coat it in the
mixture. Roast in the preheated oven, basting every 20 minutes or so
for about 45 minutes. Sprinkle the crumbled gingersnaps over top.
Baste again. Roast for about 15 to 20 minutes longer, basting at least
one more time, until heated through.

Let stand for 10
minutes before cutting it into thin slices and serving, with some of the
pan juices spooned over top if desired.

I really do hope you will try this out. I can promise you, you won't be sorry. If you cannot find the ginger jam, use some orange marmalade with a tsp of ginger powder added. It will be every bit as good. Happy New Year and Bon Appetit!

Looks delicious! I live in Canada and we followed the same traditions. Turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas and ham for New Years and Easter. I'm feeling a little out of sorts, though because we had Christmas at our daughters and we had ham and a roast. Delicious, but not the same. We will cook turkey in January with all the trimmings!

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About Me

Marie Rayner

Canadian ex pat deliciously living and cooking in the UK. I cook and eat every day. I like to take pictures of it and then share it with you!

How I got Here

Welcome to my English Kitchen. I moved over here to England from Canada in the year 2000. Before I arrived, I was told that the cooking and food over here was awful, except for the Roast Beef and the Fish and Chips. I had no idea of what to expect, but it didn't sound good.
I landed at Heathrow with a bulging suitcase full of kitchen tools, handwritten recipes and a 4 litre can of Maple Syrup, totally prepared to be greeted with the worst.
I am happy to say that over the past 17 years I have discovered that most of what I had heard was totally and completelywrong!
Here in the UK we have some of the best poultry, meats, fishes, ingredients and produce in the world, and some of the most innovative chefs. I have learned so much about cooking in the past fifteen years, and I've enjoyed trying and experiencing many new things, thankfully most of them wonderfully delicious!
I love English food . . . both the traditional, and the wonderful blend that is modern British Cuisine . . . a delicious mixture of a variety of tastes and cultures.
I hope you'll come along with me as I explore all the wonderful tastes, sights and textures that England has to offer even the most discerning of palates.

Contact Me

If you have any questions or want to work with me, feel free to e-mail me at mariealicejoan@aol.com

Colour me Chuffed

Thank You

TWEET

Did You Know???

Make Your Own Self Raising Flour:You can make your own self raising flour by adding 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt to every cup of plain flour.

Make Your Own Baking Powder:You can make your own baking powder by combining 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda with 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar. It's ideal for coeliac sufferers who can't find the gluten-free variety of this raising agent, but measure it out carefully because too much or too little can upset a recipe's balance.

Make Your Own Mixed Spice:You can easily make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.

Make Your Own Cajun Seasoning: Mix together 2 1/2 TBS of salt, 1 TBS dried oregano leaves (Rub to a powder using your fingertips), 1 TBS sweet paprika, 1 TBS cayenne pepper, and 1 TBS ground black pepper. Store in an airtight container out of the light for up to six months.Make Your Own Pumpkin Pie Spice: Mix together 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of ground mace or ground cardamom. Store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.